The importance of first impressions

"A first impression makes a lasting impression." As with most clichés, there's more than a kernel of truth in that statement.

I happened upon this thought during a recent business trip to Israel.  In the general chit-chat before our meeting was set to begin, I started talking with some colleagues about the "new" Israel airport.

Ben Gurion Airport's Terminal 3, Israel's international gateway was finally opened in October 2004 after more than ten years of planning and construction and almost five years behind schedule (it was originally supposed to coincide with the mass tourism expected in light of the millennium in the year 2000).

A beautiful, modern, comfortable, wifi equipped complex, Terminal 3 saw over 10 million international passengers in 2007, according to airport statistics and was ranked first out of forty European airports in a 2006 survey by the Airports Council International in terms of most customer-friendly airport.

This is in sharp contrast to the international terminal of old.

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Ready for a raise: Israel's Chief Scientist's Office

The Chief Scientist's Office (OCS) has been fostering a lifeline for Israel's hi-tech sector since 1984*. Through grants and loans, the OCS has been delivering critical seed funds to select Israeli R&D companies; allocating more than NIS 1.2 billion in 2006 alone. They provide the much-needed early money for cutting-edge scientific advancements; yet their budget has been declining by roughly 10-15% annually over the past few years. Rather than shrinking the OCS allotment, the Finance Ministry should explore expanding the regular OCS budget. Here are a few reasons why:

Every shekel that is spent by the Chief Scientist's Office resurfaces within the Israeli economy several times over - sometimes even directly back into the Finance Ministry's coffers. As the grant-awarded new technologies begin generating earnings, these grants are converted into low-interest loans which are paid back through royalties arrangements. The government begins to recoup its money (plus interest) once the technology becomes successful. Typically about 30-40% of the OCS annual budget is from recurring royalty payments of years past.

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